A London Borough reflects on the past & future of unity with Movement Day

Haringey, a North London Borough, sent five delegates to Movement Day Global Cities 2016 in New York. In the past we have seen how certain gatherings have had a significant impact on the Church in Haringey. The formation of Pray Haringey and the key component of prayer sprang out of the Ed Silvoso City Reachers Conference in 1998 and our own Transform Haringey Conference in the 2005 stirred up new ways of outworking our unity though community serving projects.
Whether Movement Day Global Cities 2016 has a similar impact only time will tell but it has sparked some simple ideas that we have started to communicate across the borough.
First it has helped us to redefine the core principles that have driven the vision of Pray Haringey – unity, prayer, holistic mission, transformation and humility. It has brought clarity and focus.
Secondly, it has made us keenly aware that over 22 years leaders and key carriers of this vision have come and gone from Haringey. There is a need to reload this vision into the Church. To do so we must be creative in communicating these principles to a new wave of leaders and church members so that they can contribute to the future of Pray Haringey.
In addition, we realise that there is an emerging generation of young adults who are not participating in Pray Haringey. However, in many of them we see a love for these principles and lives which are enacting many of them.

We see the London conference as a unique opportunity to create an awareness of what God is doing around the world and stirring in them.

Our prayer is that this will enable pathways of participation to emerge for them take ownership Pray Haringey and reshape it for the future. It will probably look different and we mustn’t fear that.
Finally, it has made us aware of the need to reinvigorate the foundation of united prayer in Haringey – gathering God’s people from every facet of Haringey life to share stories of what God is doing and stir up the commitment to pray together.

We are asking for God to shake us up again so pastors trust each other, to preach in each other’s churches and to encourage their own congregations to look outwards.